payroll
noun
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Definition of payroll
Examples of payroll in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
His last day on the department's payroll was June 9, officials said. — Cameron Knight, Cincinnati.com, "Former Cincinnati police captain to plead guilty to bribery charge," 29 Aug. 2019 Private-sector employment data from payroll processor ADP and Moody’s Analytics indicates that smaller employers, in particular, are struggling to keep workers. — NBC News, "Slacking off work by playing fantasy football? Meh, it's not as bad as you think.," 28 Aug. 2019 The total represents an 8.5% increase from 2017, and Hanson predicts such charges will continue to rise in 2019 as hotels try to combat increasing payroll and real estate costs. — Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times, "Those hidden resort fees you hate paying? Travel websites fight back," 27 Aug. 2019 If the Cubs miss the playoffs with baseball’s second-highest payroll — a year after the bitter disappointment of bowing out feebly with losses in Game No. — David Haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Cubs look closer to being dismantled in the offseason than they are to playing in the World Series," 26 Aug. 2019 The system was created after four audit reports between 2014 and 2017 concluded that a disorganized payroll system for Afghan security forces was failing to adequately protect hundreds of millions in U.S.-funded payments from fraud and abuse. — Washington Post, "U.S. taxpayers paid millions for Afghan payroll system that doesn’t work as intended, DOD audit says," 25 Aug. 2019 What if Urban Meyer, still on Ohio State’s payroll, was here in a suite sporting a Gators shirt? — Ross Dellenger, SI.com, "No. 8 Florida Edges Miami, but Buzz Surrounding Top-10 Ranking Dissipates," 24 Aug. 2019 The governor’s campaign typically does not report payments to specific people, opting instead to report aggregate payroll spending. — Hillary Borrud | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive.com, "How many of Gov. Kate Brown’s state staffers volunteer on her campaign? She won’t say.," 22 Aug. 2019 To keep him on the payroll and entertained, McLaren approved his plan to build a road car without compromise. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "These McLaren F1s and Bugatti EB110s were the stars of Car Week," 22 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'payroll.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for payroll
payroll
nounFinancial Definition of payroll
What It Is
Payroll is the total of the compensation a company pays to its employees. In the accounting world, it is also a term used for calculating and processing paychecks (as in, "doing payroll").
How It Works
On the income statement, payroll expenses are part of labor costs. They include employee salaries, employer payments for health insurance or similar benefits, payroll taxes paid by the employer, bonuses, commissions and similar expenses.
Doing payroll is a complicated process that involves ensuring that every employee is paid correctly, calculating the appropriate payroll taxes (which can vary with the employee's salary, whether he or she has hit the Social Security cap for the year, etc.), and correctly deducting miscellaneous items (such as court-ordered child support, gym memberships or 401(k) contributions).
Why It Matters
Payroll is a major expense for most companies and is the primary component of labor cost. Labor costs vary by industry, and comparing companies in different industries should be done with this in mind.
In the accounting world, doing payroll is a crucial but often thankless job. The calculations must always be accurate, the paychecks must be printed on time, new and departing employees must be added to or deleted from various processes, and the taxes must be remitted to the proper authorities on time and in the correct amount. As soon as the process ends, it begins again. Many companies outsource some of the work.
Source: Investing Answers
payroll
noun
English Language Learners Definition of payroll
See the full definition for payroll in the English Language Learners Dictionary
payroll
noun
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Kids Definition of payroll
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